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if i started name calling a girl and she tries to hit me and i push her with my elbow and it turns out she is pregnat. can they press charges on me for hitting her or for name calling even though it was the first time?

Asked on 10/14/13, 7:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Texas law will apply, and I'm not a Texas lawyer, but your question suggests a few failures to understand what is lawful. Name-calling is generally fine unless it is defamatory. Elbowing anyone can amount to battery, and you could be sued for it, regardless whether you elbowed a girl (battery does not depend on the sex of the victim), regardless whether she was pregnant (you should not elbow non-pregnant people either), and regardless whether it was the first time (you don't get a first-timer free pass).

Short of hiring a lawyer to get a Texas law answer to your question, your best line of defense may be to begin treating all women with the same dignity and respect that you would want me to show to you and your mother, and to apologize to the girl and explain that you have been a total arse, should never have called her a name to begin with, that your elbowing her was unnecessary and inappropriate even if she did try to hit you, and that you ask her to forgive you and give you an opportunity to demonstrate that you can be a decent human being in spite of the way you acted toward her.

If you do that, the chances of anyone taking you to court over the incident are reduced dramatically, and you save yourself the legal expense of a lawyer and the personal expense of living a sub-human existence.